Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis Exacerbation or Crisis With Efgartigimod

NCT ID: NCT06860633

Last Updated: 2025-07-11

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE4

Total Enrollment

20 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-03-06

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This study plans to learn more about if the drug efgartigimod can be used in the hospital to treat exacerbations in participants with myasthenia gravis (MG). Efgartigimod has been approved by the FDA for ongoing (chronic) treatment of generalized MG in adult patients who are anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody positive but has not been studied in the treatment of worsening weakness requiring hospital admission (known as "exacerbation"). This investigation aims to see if using efgartigimod in this way improves symptoms and recovery from exacerbation, and how it affects certain MG markers in the blood. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Is efgartigimod effective as a hospital-administered acute therapy for participants with worsening MG (MG exacerbation) who require hospitalization?
* Will efgartigimod lead to clinical improvement with a similar reduction in validated research scales, such as the Quantitative MG (QMG) scale, as standard of care therapies?

Participants will receive 4 doses of efgartigimod over the course of 4 weeks with an additional follow-up visit at the clinic.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Efgartigimod is thought to work by reducing circulating IgG antibodies, including the antibodies that cause MG. One of the currently used treatments for MG exacerbation, called plasma exchange (PLEX), is also thought to work by reducing antibody levels by filtering blood through a machine similar to those used in dialysis for kidney failure. Because of the similarities between how these two treatments work, there is reason to believe that efgartigimod may also be helpful in treating MG exacerbation.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Myasthenia Gravis Crisis Myasthenia Gravis Exacerbations AChR Myasthenia Gravis

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Efgartigimod

Participants receive 4 doses of efgartigimod via intravenous (IV) infusion over the course of the study on days 1, 4, 11 and 18.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Efgartigimod

Intervention Type DRUG

Dose of 10 mg/kg for IV infusion on days 1, 4, 11 and 18

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Efgartigimod

Dose of 10 mg/kg for IV infusion on days 1, 4, 11 and 18

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Vyvgart

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Adults ≥ age 18 years with known generalized MG as identified by characteristic signs of generalized MG on clinical assessment and positive serology for AchR antibodies as well as one of the following:

1. Documented positive response to cholinesterase inhibitors such as pyridostigmine or edrophonium
2. Abnormal decrement on slow repetitive nerve stimulation testing
3. Abnormal single fiber EMG
* Evidence of worsening weakness requiring hospital admission for stabilization and change in therapy as determined by a neuromuscular expert including:

1. Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG) scale ≥ 11
2. MG-ADL score ≥ 6
3. Worsening weakness that is unlikely to be ameliorated by adjustment of current medications including impaired respiratory status, dysarthria, dysphagia, difficulty chewing, limb weakness, diplopia, ptosis.
* Ability to sign consent and be enrolled within 24 hours of hospital admission. For participants transferred to University of Colorado Hospital, the time of admission/presentation to the outside hospital is counted towards this 24-hour cap.

Exclusion Criteria

* MG worsening thought to be related to active infection or due to medications (e.g. fluoroquinolone or aminoglycoside antibiotics, magnesium, chloroquine derivatives)
* Intubation prior to ability to sign informed consent or intubation within 24 hours of hospitalization
* Use of IVIG within 2 weeks, or having undergone plasma exchange or received efgartigimod in the 4 weeks prior to admission
* Current ongoing use of ravulizumab or eculizumab (monoclonal antibody C5-complement inhibitors).
* Other medical conditions that, in the opinion of the investigator and treating clinicians, might interfere with the validity of assessment measures used in the study (e.g. steroid myopathy, CNS pathology, severe arthritis, fractures, etc.). This criterion is a standard exclusion in MG trials and relates solely to other conditions that reduce muscle power or range of motion and would thus worsen scores on assessment measures like the QMG due to non-MG conditions.
* Known history of coagulopathy, blood clotting, recent severe bleeding (e.g. GI bleed).
* Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Pregnancy must be excluded for all potential participants who are able to become pregnant prior to initiation of treatment.
* IgG levels \< 600mg/dL
* Evidence of active or chronic Hepatitis B infection, untreated Hepatitis C infection, HIV with low CD4 (\<200) count.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

argenx

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Colorado, Denver

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Thomas Ragole, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Colorado, Denver

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

University of Colorado

Aurora, Colorado, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Alyssa Avilez, BS

Role: CONTACT

303.724.3522

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Alyssa Avilez, BS

Role: primary

303-724-3522

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Phillips LH 2nd. The epidemiology of myasthenia gravis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003 Sep;998:407-12. doi: 10.1196/annals.1254.053.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14592908 (View on PubMed)

Schneider-Gold C, Hagenacker T, Melzer N, Ruck T. Understanding the burden of refractory myasthenia gravis. Ther Adv Neurol Disord. 2019 Mar 1;12:1756286419832242. doi: 10.1177/1756286419832242. eCollection 2019.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30854027 (View on PubMed)

Gilhus NE. Myasthenia Gravis. N Engl J Med. 2016 Dec 29;375(26):2570-2581. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1602678. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28029925 (View on PubMed)

Habib AA, Sacks N, Cool C, Durgapal S, Dennen S, Everson K, Hughes T, Hernandez J, Phillips G. Hospitalizations and Mortality From Myasthenia Gravis: Trends From 2 US National Datasets. Neurology. 2024 Jan 23;102(2):e207863. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000207863. Epub 2023 Dec 18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 38165317 (View on PubMed)

Gajdos P, Chevret S, Toyka KV. Intravenous immunoglobulin for myasthenia gravis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Dec 12;12(12):CD002277. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD002277.pub4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23235588 (View on PubMed)

Ipe TS, Davis AR, Raval JS. Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in Myasthenia Gravis: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Evidence. Front Neurol. 2021 Aug 31;12:662856. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.662856. eCollection 2021.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34531809 (View on PubMed)

Gelfand EW. Intravenous immune globulin in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. N Engl J Med. 2012 Nov 22;367(21):2015-25. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1009433. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23171098 (View on PubMed)

Barth D, Nabavi Nouri M, Ng E, Nwe P, Bril V. Comparison of IVIg and PLEX in patients with myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2011 Jun 7;76(23):2017-23. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31821e5505. Epub 2011 May 11.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21562253 (View on PubMed)

Guo Y, Tian X, Wang X, Xiao Z. Adverse Effects of Immunoglobulin Therapy. Front Immunol. 2018 Jun 8;9:1299. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01299. eCollection 2018.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29951056 (View on PubMed)

Norda R, Stegmayr BG; Swedish Apheresis Group. Therapeutic apheresis in Sweden: update of epidemiology and adverse events. Transfus Apher Sci. 2003 Oct;29(2):159-66. doi: 10.1016/S1473-0502(03)00121-6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12941356 (View on PubMed)

Kaya E, Keklik M, Sencan M, Yilmaz M, Keskin A, Kiki I, Erkurt MA, Sivgin S, Korkmaz S, Okan V, Dogu MH, Unal A, Cetin M, Altuntas F, Ilhan O. Therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with neurological diseases: multicenter retrospective analysis. Transfus Apher Sci. 2013 Jun;48(3):349-52. doi: 10.1016/j.transci.2013.04.015. Epub 2013 Apr 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23619327 (View on PubMed)

Francois M, Daubin D, Menouche D, Gaillet A, Provoost J, Trusson R, Arrestier R, Hequet O, Richard JC, Moranne O, Larcher R, Klouche K. Adverse Events and Infectious Complications in the Critically Ill Treated by Plasma Exchange: A Five-Year Multicenter Cohort Study. Crit Care Explor. 2023 Oct 27;5(11):e0988. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000988. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 38304709 (View on PubMed)

Bril V, Szczudlik A, Vaitkus A, Rozsa C, Kostera-Pruszczyk A, Hon P, Bednarik J, Tyblova M, Kohler W, Toomsoo T, Nowak RJ, Mozaffar T, Freimer ML, Nicolle MW, Magnus T, Pulley MT, Rivner M, Dimachkie MM, Distad BJ, Pascuzzi RM, Babiar D, Lin J, Querolt Coll M, Griffin R, Mondou E. Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Corticosteroid-Sparing Effects of Immunoglobulin in Myasthenia Gravis. Neurology. 2023 Feb 14;100(7):e671-e682. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000201501. Epub 2022 Oct 21.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36270895 (View on PubMed)

Howard JF Jr, Bril V, Vu T, Karam C, Peric S, Margania T, Murai H, Bilinska M, Shakarishvili R, Smilowski M, Guglietta A, Ulrichts P, Vangeneugden T, Utsugisawa K, Verschuuren J, Mantegazza R; ADAPT Investigator Study Group. Safety, efficacy, and tolerability of efgartigimod in patients with generalised myasthenia gravis (ADAPT): a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet Neurol. 2021 Jul;20(7):526-536. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(21)00159-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34146511 (View on PubMed)

Gwathmey KG, Ding H, Hehir M, Silvestri N. How should newer therapeutic agents be incorporated into the treatment of patients with myasthenia gravis? Muscle Nerve. 2024 Apr;69(4):389-396. doi: 10.1002/mus.28038. Epub 2024 Feb 3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 38308492 (View on PubMed)

Ulrichts P, Guglietta A, Dreier T, van Bragt T, Hanssens V, Hofman E, Vankerckhoven B, Verheesen P, Ongenae N, Lykhopiy V, Enriquez FJ, Cho J, Ober RJ, Ward ES, de Haard H, Leupin N. Neonatal Fc receptor antagonist efgartigimod safely and sustainably reduces IgGs in humans. J Clin Invest. 2018 Oct 1;128(10):4372-4386. doi: 10.1172/JCI97911. Epub 2018 Jul 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30040076 (View on PubMed)

Howard JF Jr, Bril V, Burns TM, Mantegazza R, Bilinska M, Szczudlik A, Beydoun S, Garrido FJRR, Piehl F, Rottoli M, Van Damme P, Vu T, Evoli A, Freimer M, Mozaffar T, Ward ES, Dreier T, Ulrichts P, Verschueren K, Guglietta A, de Haard H, Leupin N, Verschuuren JJGM; Efgartigimod MG Study Group. Randomized phase 2 study of FcRn antagonist efgartigimod in generalized myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2019 Jun 4;92(23):e2661-e2673. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007600. Epub 2019 May 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31118245 (View on PubMed)

Katzberg HD, Barnett C, Merkies IS, Bril V. Minimal clinically important difference in myasthenia gravis: outcomes from a randomized trial. Muscle Nerve. 2014 May;49(5):661-5. doi: 10.1002/mus.23988. Epub 2014 Feb 4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24810970 (View on PubMed)

Guptill JT, Juel VC, Massey JM, Anderson AC, Chopra M, Yi JS, Esfandiari E, Buchanan T, Smith B, Atherfold P, Jones E, Howard JF Jr. Effect of therapeutic plasma exchange on immunoglobulins in myasthenia gravis. Autoimmunity. 2016 Nov;49(7):472-479. doi: 10.1080/08916934.2016.1214823. Epub 2016 Aug 11.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27684107 (View on PubMed)

Wolfe GI, Herbelin L, Nations SP, Foster B, Bryan WW, Barohn RJ. Myasthenia gravis activities of daily living profile. Neurology. 1999 Apr 22;52(7):1487-9. doi: 10.1212/wnl.52.7.1487.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10227640 (View on PubMed)

Barohn RJ, McIntire D, Herbelin L, Wolfe GI, Nations S, Bryan WW. Reliability testing of the quantitative myasthenia gravis score. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1998 May 13;841:769-72. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb11015.x. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9668327 (View on PubMed)

Gajdos P, Tranchant C, Clair B, Bolgert F, Eymard B, Stojkovic T, Attarian S, Chevret S; Myasthenia Gravis Clinical Study Group. Treatment of myasthenia gravis exacerbation with intravenous immunoglobulin: a randomized double-blind clinical trial. Arch Neurol. 2005 Nov;62(11):1689-93. doi: 10.1001/archneur.62.11.1689.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16286541 (View on PubMed)

Howard JF Jr, Utsugisawa K, Benatar M, Murai H, Barohn RJ, Illa I, Jacob S, Vissing J, Burns TM, Kissel JT, Muppidi S, Nowak RJ, O'Brien F, Wang JJ, Mantegazza R; REGAIN Study Group. Safety and efficacy of eculizumab in anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive refractory generalised myasthenia gravis (REGAIN): a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study. Lancet Neurol. 2017 Dec;16(12):976-986. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30369-1. Epub 2017 Oct 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29066163 (View on PubMed)

Vu T, Meisel A, Mantegazza R, Annane D, Katsuno M, Aguzzi R, Enayetallah A, Beasley KN, Rampal N, Howard JF. Terminal Complement Inhibitor Ravulizumab in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis. NEJM Evid. 2022 May;1(5):EVIDoa2100066. doi: 10.1056/EVIDoa2100066. Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 38319212 (View on PubMed)

Bril V, Druzdz A, Grosskreutz J, Habib AA, Mantegazza R, Sacconi S, Utsugisawa K, Vissing J, Vu T, Boehnlein M, Bozorg A, Gayfieva M, Greve B, Woltering F, Kaminski HJ; MG0003 study team. Safety and efficacy of rozanolixizumab in patients with generalised myasthenia gravis (MycarinG): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, adaptive phase 3 study. Lancet Neurol. 2023 May;22(5):383-394. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(23)00077-7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 37059507 (View on PubMed)

Farmakidis C, Pasnoor M, Dimachkie MM, Barohn RJ. Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis. Neurol Clin. 2018 May;36(2):311-337. doi: 10.1016/j.ncl.2018.01.011.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29655452 (View on PubMed)

Sharshar T, Porcher R, Demeret S, Tranchant C, Gueguen A, Eymard B, Nadaj-Pakleza A, Spinazzi M, Grimaldi L, Birnbaum S, Friedman D, Clair B; MYACOR Study Group. Comparison of Corticosteroid Tapering Regimens in Myasthenia Gravis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Neurol. 2021 Apr 1;78(4):426-433. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.5407.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33555314 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

24-0158

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.